Ted Stevens, convicted felon and....senator?

(Via the NYT)

A federal jury of eight women and four men from the District of Columbia found that the 84-year-old Mr. Stevens, who has represented Alaska in the Senate for more than 40 years, knowingly failed to list on Senate disclosure forms the receipt of several gifts and tens of thousands of dollars worth of remodeling work on his home in Girdwood, Alaska.

[snip]

Mr. Stevens is certain to appeal the conviction, and his supporters are also likely to explore the possibility of obtaining a pardon from a fellow Republican, President George W. Bush, before Mr. Bush leaves office in January.

The maximum sentence on each of the felony charges is five years in prison, but federal sentencing guidelines could call for much less than that. Mr. Stevens will turn 85 on Nov. 18. Judge Emmet Sullivan did not set a date for sentencing, but said it would be after February.

A senator can be expelled only by a two-thirds vote of the entire Senate, so a conviction does not automatically cost a lawmaker his seat. Since 1789, only 15 senators have been expelled, mostly for supporting the Confederacy during the Civil War, according to the Senate Web site.

In the post Sen. Craig world, it will be interesting to see what kind of rhetorical gymnastics will be performed to justify Sen. Steven's continued presence in the senate.

Given that the President can hardly fall farther in the polls, his pardon/commutation may already be in the mail.

Watch and see, I guess.